TRUMP AGENDA - Neuter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

"Duel over who runs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau goes to court" PBS NewsHour 11/27/2017

NOTE:  The Dodd-Frank law that created the CFPB states that the Assistant Director becomes the Acting Director.  Trump just wants to ignore this law.

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SUMMARY:  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opened for business on Monday with dueling appointees.  Leandra English was named acting director on Friday by the bureau's outgoing chief, but within hours President Trump appointed White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney to the same job.  English filed a federal lawsuit Sunday.  William Brangham reports.

"Consumer agency is banking cop for American families, says Sen. Warren" PBS NewsHour 11/27/2017

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SUMMARY:  Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., says the law is clear when it comes to who should run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the wake of the resignation of its director.  Warren, who helped create the bureau under the Obama administration, talks with William Brangham about the mission and the independency of the agency, as well as President Trump’s latest disparaging remark.

SUPPLEMENTS - Consumer Safety

"Is the supplement industry doing enough for consumer safety?" PBS NewsHour 4/10/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Some popular weight loss and workout supplements contain a chemical called BMPEA that includes an ingredient nearly identical to amphetamine, according to a new study.  Dr. Pieter Cohen of Harvard Medical School and Daniel Fabricant of the Natural Products Association join Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the safety and regulation of dietary supplements.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  A study out this week is calling new attention to the health risks of some dietary supplements, and whether the industry and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are doing enough to protect consumers.

It found that some popular weight loss and workout supplements contains a chemical called BMPEA that includes an ingredient nearly identical to amphetamine.

And again to Hari, who has the latest on this from our New York studios.

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  Researchers found the amphetamine-like stimulant in 11 of 21 products they tested, including in popular ones like JetFuel Superburn, and JetFuel T-300 that are sold at stores nationwide.

Last year, Canadian health officials pulled some supplements with those chemicals from shelves over concerns of stroke risk and cardiovascular health.  Today, the Vitamin Shoppe chain announced it would stop selling any products in the study that were believed to contain BMPEA.

The study is raising flags once again about the regulation and responsibility of a $30 billion-a-year industry.

Dr. Pieter Cohen of Harvard Medical School was the lead author of the study.  And Daniel Fabricant is with the industry trade group the Natural Products Association.  He also ran the FDA’s Division of Dietary Supplements from 2011 to 2014.